Joburg releases public transport app

The City of Joburg has released a new app VayaMoja to improve the use of public transport.

The app allows users to be able to search for destinations, select routes and see bus arrival times of both Rea Vaya and Metrobus routes.

Developed as part of the city’s move toward a public transport system that is seamless and integrated, the first phase of the VayaMoja mobile app was released in July 2016 and the launch of its second phase is imminent.

This is the result of a joint effort between Intervate, a T-Systems company, and the city to provide citizen-engagement technologies in the sphere of public transport. The VayaMoja app allows commuters to access information on all Rea Vaya and Metrobus routes, bus frequencies and stops, as well as fare information.

“We are now ready to roll out the second phase of the VayaMoja app service,” said Craig Heckrath, who heads the Smart Citizen product team at Intervate.

“Now that we know where every bus is and what direction and speed it’s moving at, we will be able to create a reliable, predictable public transport experience for commuters. Currently users can see bus routes and stops, but they don’t have a sense for when the next bus is coming. Once this phase of the project is live, users will be able to make better decisions when navigating the complex Joburg transport system, as they’ll be able to track bus movements and get timing estimates directly on the app,” Heckrath explains.

Intended to empower commuters to plan a journey based on their current location and where they want to be, users will now be able to search destinations, select routes and see bus arrival times.

The Joburg public bus service currently has a spider web of routes across the city, with a multitude of stops which even regular users might not be aware of.

“This phase of the VayaMoja app development will get us closer to enabling the commuter to navigate this web of complexity and we are excited about this phase. We’re doing our best to speed things up and by the beginning of 2017, we should have reached full functionality which will enable commuters to engage in end-to-end navigation through the VayaMoja app,” he said.

The VayaMoja app is available free of charge from the app stores for both Android and iOS.